A blog by Steve Malchow

Day: January 6, 2014

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Iowa State’s women’s basketball win at 25th-ranked Oklahoma Sunday was its first overtime victory on the road in three years. It was the type of victory that will carry a lot of weight as tournament resumes are built and should be a confidence builder.

Assistant Coach Billy Fennelly put the win in context via Twitter account: “The knock on us was no close game experience! Nothing like an OT road win against a top25 team to ✔ that off! CLUTCH plays by ALL!”

There were clutch performances by a number of players but none were bigger than those from freshman Jadda Buckley.

Not quite a month ago, Head Coach Bill Fennelly said he hoped the bright lights of the Iowa game would ignite Buckley. The rookie from Mason City controlled the action against the Hawkeyes with repeated drives to the baskets and converted foul shots (she made 14-16). She thrived under the bright lights.

Buckley took another step forward in Norman. Battling a talented Sooner team on the road, Buckley was terrific. She converted 9-10 shots (making 6-7 from three-point range) on the way to a career-best 29 points. She added 4 rebounds and 3 assists for good measure.

“Jadda Buckley was incredible,” Bill Fennelly said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a freshman play that well on the road in a conference game.”

One thing is obvious with Buckley. She likes the bright lights and her stellar efforts at OU might have been the start of something special.